Posted By Equipment World Staff On September 29, 2010 @ 9:51 am In Industry Briefs | No Comments

L.B. Foster Co. of Pittsburgh is providing new roadway decking and bridge railing for the Brooklyn and Manhattan approach ramps to the famed Brooklyn Bridge. The $10 million contract will include more than 170,000 square feet of steel grid deck and 13,000 linear feet of steel railing. These fabricated materials are being manufactured at L.B. Foster’s Bedford, Pa., facility and expect to complete shipments by the end of 2011.

The New York City Department of Transportation has installed steel grid decking systems on many area projects including the famed Manhattan Bridge.

“Steel grid decking offers efficient installation, long-term performance and low life cycle costs over competing products,” noted Don Foster, senior vice president of L.B. Foster Construction Products. The grid decking reinforces the precast concrete to form a composite material that takes advantage of the best properties of both the concrete and steel. Concrete will be precast into these complex panels by a separate supplier and the panels will be shipped to the site ready to install.

The city of New York is relying on stimulus resources from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to partially fund this contract. The project’s general contractor, Skanska, is painting the bridge’s main span as well as retrofitting and widening the approach ramps and replacing railings. L.B. Foster is working closely with Skanska to deliver fabricated steel bridge materials within a critical time frame to minimize disruptions to traffic. “L.B. Foster always comes through for Skanska with high quality bridge products that are delivered on time and to our demanding specifications,” said Stephen Koch, Executive Vice President of Skanska.